认识美国的另一面——托马斯·索维尔论常识、事实与愿景

Trying to Understand the Other Side of America--Thomas Sowell, An African American Thinker, on Common Sense, Facts and Visions

当前的美国社会明显处在某种严重的分裂之中,包括政见、价值观、党派,媒体和自媒体的分裂。了解托马斯·索维尔的思想有助于认识美国的另一面,也就是主流媒体和知识界没有充分反映的另一面,亦即保守主义思想暗流涌动的一面。托马斯·索维尔的思想受到其自身生活经验的激发,他重视经济学中有关稀缺性的基本常识,也在事实和愿景的比较中反复进行分析和批判性思考。常识是有关生活事实的常识和有关行为准则的常识;事实是有关人性的事实和有关行为的过程和结果的事实。人们的愿景有“受约束”和“无约束”之分。愿景不可没有,但不可违背基本常识和人性事实,且需要根据行为的过程和结果进行调整。基于这些基本的思想方法,索维尔还对美国社会的重要争议问题,诸如少数族裔、文化战争和经济福利等发表了看法。

Currently,American society is experiencing serious split over the issues of political opinions,values,party affiliation,media and self-media.Thomas Sowell s thoughts help us understand the other side of the United States,the side that has not been fully reflected by mainstream media and intellectuals,and has also been increasingly occupied by conservative minds.Inspired by his own life experience,Sowell paid special attention to the basic common sense of scarcity in economics,and deliberated extensively and critically on the comparison of facts and visions.Common sense is the knowledge about the realities of life and code of conduct.Facts are mainly about human nature and the process and results of human behavior.Vision includes constrained and unconstrained visions.Though indispensable,vision should not contradict with basic common sense and human facts,and needs to be adjusted according to the process and results of behavior.Based on these basic thinking methods,he also expressed his views on important controversies in American society,such as ethnic minorities,cultural wars,and economic welfare.